Paying for quality, not quantity: what October’s office news tells us

“Change” at scale: refurbishing around the occupiers you already have

Ho Bee Land has appointed design studio MoreySmith to remodel 25 Ropemaker Street, a 600,000 sq ft City of London office — new facades, a redesigned reception, upgraded amenities and a decarbonisation programme targeting BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ and EPC ‘A’. Completion is anticipated by December 2028. Notably, the owner is trying to keep its existing tenants through the works, having already secured a lease extension with anchor tenant Macquarie. [3] Property Week, Ho Bee Land appoints MoreySmith for 600,000 sq ft City office repositioning (opens in a new tab)

This is the “stay and change” route at building scale: improve what exists rather than replace it. For an individual occupier the equivalent question is what a reconfiguration or refurbishment of your own floor — layout, meeting space, building services, accessibility — would cost and deliver, compared with a move. If your landlord is investing, that changes your negotiating position; if they are not, it changes the case for leaving.

“Go”: trading size for quality — and testing it first

Law firm A&O Shearman is completing its move from One Bishops Square — its 500,000 sq ft home since 2006 — to a purpose-built 360,000 sq ft workspace at 2 Broadgate beside Liverpool Street. The new eight-floor space has flexible team neighbourhoods, collaboration zones and focus rooms, and was designed with input from a full-scale trial floor the firm ran at its old building for more than 18 months. [2] Property Week, A&O Shearman moves into new City headquarters at Broadgate (opens in a new tab)

Two transferable lessons sit here. First, the move is smaller, not larger: the firm is trading footprint for a better-fit workplace. Second, the design was tested in practice before being committed — a trial the firm describes as having informed the collaboration, client and wellbeing features of the new space. [2] Property Week, A&O Shearman moves into new City headquarters at Broadgate (opens in a new tab)

At a very different scale, technology company Sharp has relocated its UK headquarters from East Ardsley in Wakefield to 10,200 sq ft at South Central in Leeds, on a 10-year lease with a break after five years, housing around 100 staff in a flagship showroom and collaborative workplace. The company selected the building after a search for quality accommodation that would support its long-term operational requirements. [4] Property Week, Sharp relocates UK headquarters to Leeds' South Central (opens in a new tab)

Both moves follow a workplace brief — how people work, what the client sees, what the building must do — rather than a headline about the market. Neither treats the move as the goal; both treat it as the way to fix a specific mismatch.

Five questions to put on the table

1. What is the quality gap worth? If rents for your kind of space have moved 20–40% in a year, price a renewal honestly against a move — and against what better space would cost you in attraction and retention.
2. Is your landlord investing or waiting? Buildings across London are being repositioned rather than replaced. Ask what your landlord’s plans are before you assume your space will still compete in three years.
3. Are you paying for space you do not use? The largest move in this month’s news shrank the footprint. Occupancy analysis first; square footage second.
4. Could you test the design before committing? An 18-month trial floor is unusual, but pilots, sample layouts and short-term reconfigurations are not. Cheap experiments beat expensive assumptions.
5. What does flexibility cost, and what does it buy? A five-year break has value. Weigh lease length, break rights and fit-out amortisation together when comparing options.

The takeaway

October’s evidence points one way: quality is scarce and priced accordingly, so the decision is less “stay or go” and more “what standard of space can you justify, and by which route?” Some firms will reach it by refurbishing in place, some by moving smaller and better, and some by re-gearing on honest terms. Test all three against the same brief before choosing.

This article is general information, not architectural, property, legal or financial advice. Professional advice is available for decisions about a specific workplace or lease.